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When 'The Jeffersons' star Sherman Hemsley danced to obscure prog-rock on his hit sitcom

He was an enormous prog fan.

sherman hemsley, the jeffersons, progressive rock, rock music, tv shows

'The Jeffersons' star was such a prog rock fan, he danced to an obscure song on the show.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (cropped publicity photo via CBS Television Network), Photo credit: Canva (headphones) / YouTube screenshot of 'The Jeffersons' clip
Ryan Reed
By Ryan ReedMay 09, 2025
Ryan Reed
Ryan Reed is a contributing writer for GOOD residing in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has contributed to Rolling Stone, Relix, Revolver, SPIN and The New York Times.
See Full Bio

On paper, Sherman Hemsley and progressive rock seem to belong in different universes. The charismatic actor is best known for starring in The Jeffersons, the long-running CBS sitcom with a gospel-tinged theme song; meanwhile, the high-brow stylings of prog, even during the genre’s commercial peak in the 1970s, weren’t something you’d expect to hear in a mainstream multi-cam TV show. (The 1972 Genesis epic "Supper’s Ready" clocks in at 22:54—longer than most sitcom episodes.)

But Hemsley was an enormous prog fan, and he brazenly waved that flag during an early episode of The Jeffersons—performing a smooth and hilarious dance to Nektar’s obscure 1974 jam "Show Me the Way." In the scene, the character Lionel (Mike Evans) plays the track via boom box while reclining on the couch, while his father, George (Hemsley), struts in and grooves all over the carpet. When Lionel cuts off the tune, the elder Jefferson snaps, "Great music! What’d you turn it off for?"

Sherman Hemsley - Nektar - Show Me The Waywww.youtube.com

It’s fair to say that few in the studio audience were hip to Nektar, the British (via Germany) outfit that specialized in a uniquely funky and psychedelic flavor of prog. "Show Me the Way" appeared on the band’s fifth LP, Down to Earth, which peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard 200—their second-highest chart placement following that album’s predecessor, 1973’s Remember the Future (No. 19). It wasn’t absurd for their music to appear on the right kind of TV program—after all, they did play their song "Wings" on the BBC showThe Old Grey Whistle Test. But Nektar fans who happened to catch that Jeffersons episode probably thought they were hallucinating.

In a 2024 interview, bassist Derek "Mo" Moore said Nektar "knew Sherman well," noting that he once showed up at the band’s L.A. hotel. "[H]e was this bouncy guy. He was a real powerhouse," Moore said. "Then, we found out who he was afterwards, so we played the Santa Monica Civic and we invited him to announce us onstage, which he did. Then, we went to a party at his house, which was outrageous. He went on Hollywood Squares with a T-shirt that we gave him, the yellow Nektar T-shirt…[H]e certainly helped us a lot. First of all, we got paid for doing it, which was great. He was just a super guy. Really outrageous guy."

George Has Disco Fever (ft. Sherman Hemsley) | The Jeffersonswww.youtube.com

And his love for prog extended far beyond Nektar. In 2009, Magnet published a feature based on an archival interview with Gong bandleader Daevid Allen, who talked about his surreal experience meeting super-fan Hemsley. "It was 1978 or 1979, and Sherman Hemsley kept ringing me up," Allen said. "I didn’t know him from a bar of soap because we didn’t have television in Spain [where I was living]. He called me from Hollywood saying, ‘I’m one of your biggest fans and I’m going to fly you here and put flying teapots all up and down the Sunset Strip.’ I thought, ‘This guy is a lunatic.’ He kept it up so I said, ‘Listen, can you get us tickets to L.A. via Jamaica? I want to go there to make a reggae track and have a honeymoon with my new girlfriend.’ He said, ‘Sure! I’ll get you two tickets.’" (The story only gets wilder from there, and it’s worth reading in full.)

Hemsley's musical enthusiasm never waned. While hard proof appears to exist online, fans claim the actor once praised the band Gentle Giant during an appearance on Dinah Shore’s talk show, and according to the former webmaster at Yesworld, Hemsley claimed to be collaborating with Yes co-founder Jon Anderson on a musical titled Festival of Dreams. (That project never materialized. Hemsley did, however, release an R&B album, Dance, in 1992.) We do know the Jeffersons star was, unsurprisingly, a huge Yes fan, as he told Philly Burbs in 2011, the year before his death. "I can't wait for the new Yes album," he said. "I love music of all kinds, but, yes, I love prog-rock."

You certainly did, Sherman. And your fandom didn’t go unnoticed.

Sherman Hemsley 6-20-87 late night TV performancewww.youtube.com

dancenektarsherman hemsleythe jeffersonsprogressive rockmusic historytelevisionactors1970smusic

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